Multiview system, method and display for rendering multiview content, and viewer localisation system, method and device therefor

ABSTRACT

Described are various embodiments of a multiview system, method and display for rendering multiview content, and viewer localisation system, method and device therefor. In one embodiment, a multiview system is operable to interface with a mobile device of a given viewer, and comprises: a MultiView Display (MVD); a network-interfacing content-controller; one or more emitters disposed and operable to emit a respectively encoded time-variable emission in each of distinct viewing directions; and a mobile application operable on the mobile device of the given user to capture a given one of the encoded time-variable emissions when the mobile device is located so to intersect a corresponding one of the distinct directions so to self-identify the mobile device as being substantially in line with a corresponding one of the distinct viewing directions.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to multiview displays (MVD) and systems,and, in particular, to a multiview system, method and display forrendering multiview content, and viewer localisation system, method anddevice therefor.

BACKGROUND

A multiview display (MVD) is a display that can present distinct imagesor information in different viewing directions simultaneously. In someinstances, a MVD may be used to provide viewer-related content, whichrequires knowing, at least in part, the location and/or correspondingviewing direction of each target user/viewer.

In general, view directionality may be provided through, for instance,the use of parallax barriers. In such systems, a parallax barrier mayallow light from certain pixels to be seen from designated viewingangles, while blocking light from propagating to other viewing angles.

While such systems may allow for stereoscopic viewing or displayingdirection-specific content, they often have a low tolerance on viewingangles, wherein even slight deviation in viewer position may expose auser to pixels illuminated for a different viewing zone. Such crosstalkmay result in a poor viewing experience.

For instance, International Patent Application WO 2014/014603 A3entitled “Crosstalk reduction with location-based adjustment” and issuedto Dane and Bhaskaran on Sep. 4, 2014 discloses a location-basedadjustment system for addressing crosstalk in MVD systems.

This background information is provided to reveal information believedby the applicant to be of possible relevance. No admission isnecessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the precedinginformation constitutes prior art or forms part of the general commonknowledge in the relevant art.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the general inventiveconcept(s) described herein to provide a basic understanding of someaspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview ofthe disclosure. It is not intended to restrict key or critical elementsof embodiments of the disclosure or to delineate their scope beyond thatwhich is explicitly or implicitly described by the following descriptionand claims.

A need exists for a multiview viewer localization system, method anddevice, and multiview display and system using same, that overcome someof the drawbacks of known techniques, or least, provide a usefulalternative thereto.

A further or alternative need exists for a system, method and multiviewdisplay (MVD) for rendering multiview content that overcome some of thedrawbacks of known techniques, or at least, provides a usefulalternative thereto. Examples of such methods, systems and MVDs aredescribed herein.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a multiview systemoperable to interface with a mobile device of a given viewer, the systemcomprising: a MultiView Display (MVD) operable to display distinctcontent in two or more distinct viewing directions relative to the MVD;a network-interfacing content-controller operable to selectdirection-specific content to be displayed by the MVD along each of saiddistinct viewing directions; one or more emitters disposed and operableto emit a respectively encoded time-variable emission in each of saiddistinct viewing directions, wherein each said encoded time-variableemission is associated with a respective one of said viewing directions;and a mobile application operable on the mobile device of the given userto capture a given one of said encoded time-variable emissions when themobile device is located so to intersect a corresponding one of saiddistinct directions so to self-identify the mobile device as beingsubstantially in line with a corresponding one of said distinct viewingdirections, and communicate viewer-related data and a direction-relatedidentifier identifiable from said given one of said encodedtime-variable emission to said content-controller; wherein saidnetwork-interfacing content controller is further operable to:

receive communication of said viewer-related data and direction-relatedidentifier; select content based on said viewer-related data and saiddirection-related identifier to be displayed along said given one ofsaid distinct viewing directions; and invoke display of said selectedcontent via said MVD along said given one of said distinct viewingdirections.

In one embodiment, the encoded time-variable emission comprises anencoded pulsatile waveform.

In one embodiment, the one or more emitters comprise one or moreinfrared (IR) or near-IR (NIR) emitters.

In one embodiment, the pulsatile waveform has a frequency of 38 kHz.

In one embodiment, each of said one or more emitters comprises a lightsource installed recessed in a sleeve so as to impart directionality tosaid encoded emission thereof.

In one embodiment, the one or more emitters comprise a beam-formingoptics disposed so as to impart directionality to said encoded emissionthereof.

In one embodiment, the one or more emitters comprise a directional laserlight source.

In one embodiment, the selected content comprises at least one of atext, an image, a video, a symbol, an icon or a code.

In one embodiment, the selected content comprises text, and wherein saidviewer-related data comprises a viewer language preference.

In one embodiment, the one or more emitters comprises multiple emittersrespectively disposed so to correspond with each of said distinctviewing directions.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided acomputer-implemented method, implemented by one or more digital dataprocessors, for displaying viewer-related content along a given viewdirection of a MultiView Display (MVD), the MVD operable to displaydistinct viewer-related content in two or more distinct viewingdirections relative to the display, the method comprising: emittingrespective encoded time-variable emissions, wherein each of said encodedtime-variable emissions is substantially aligned with and encodes acorresponding viewing direction of the MVD; capturing via an opticalsensor of a portable communication device located within a given viewdirection a corresponding encoded time-variable emission; extracting adirection-related identifier from said corresponding encodedtime-variable emission; communicating, via said portable communicationdevice, viewer-related data, and a direction-related identifieridentifiable from said corresponding encoded time-variable emission, toa network-interfacing content controller communicatively linked to theMVD; selecting, via said content controller, viewer-related contentbased on said viewer-related data; and displaying, via said contentcontroller and the MVD, said viewer-related content in said given viewdirection corresponding to said direction-related identifier.

In one embodiment, the encoded time-variable encoded emission comprisesan encoded pulsatile waveform.

In one embodiment, the pulsatile waveform has a frequency of 38 kHz.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a computer-readablemedium comprising digital instructions to be implemented by a digitaldata processor to automatically implement any one or more of the abovemethods.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a multiview contentselection system for selecting viewer-related content to be displayedalong respective views of a MultiView Display (MVD) that is operable todisplay distinct content in two or more distinct viewing directions, thesystem comprising: a network-interfacing content-controller operable toselect direction-specific content to be displayed by the MVD along eachof said distinct viewing directions; one or more emitters disposed andoperable to emit a respectively encoded time-variable emission in eachof said distinct viewing directions, wherein each said encodedtime-variable emission encodes is associated with a respective one ofsaid viewing directions; and a mobile application operable on a mobiledevice of a given viewer to receive a given one of said encodedtime-variable emissions when the mobile device is located so tointersect a corresponding one of said distinct directions so toself-identify the mobile device as being substantially in line with acorresponding one of said distinct viewing directions, and communicateviewer-related data and a direction-related identifier identifiable fromsaid given one of said encoded time-variable emission to saidcontent-controller; wherein said network-interfacing content controlleris further operable to: receive communication of said viewer-relateddata and said direction-related identifier; select content based on saidviewer-related data; and invoke display of said selected content via theMVD along said corresponding one of said distinct viewing directionscorresponding with said direction-related identifier.

In one embodiment, the system further comprises the MVD.

In one embodiment, the MVD comprises a dynamically variable MVD operableto dynamically vary angular view zone boundaries, and wherein said oneor more emitters are operable to correspondingly vary emission of eachsaid respectively encoded time-variable emission in each of saiddistinct viewing directions in concert with said dynamically variableMVD.

In one embodiment, the encoded time-variable emission comprises anencoded pulsatile waveform.

In one embodiment, the one or more emitters comprise one or moreinfrared (IR) or near-IR (NIR) emitters.

In one embodiment, each of said one or more emitters comprises at leastone of a light source installed recessed in a sleeve so as to impartdirectionality to said encoded emission thereof, a beam-forming opticsdisposed so as to impart directionality to said encoded emissionthereof, or a directional laser light source.

In one embodiment, the one or more emitters comprises multiple emittersrespectively disposed so to correspond with each of said distinctviewing directions.

In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a multiview display(MVD) for displaying respective content in respective view zones, theMVD comprising: a set of digital pixels; light field shaping elementsdisposed relative to said set of digital pixels; and a digital processoroperable to activate, for each of the respective content,correspondingly alternating adjacent subsets of the set of pixels so todisplay each of the respective content in their respective view zoneswhen viewed via said light field shaping elements; wherein said digitalprocessor is further operable to allocate a buffer pixel between each ofsaid alternating adjacent subsets of the set of pixels such that any twoadjacently activated pixels corresponding to distinct view zones arephysically separated by a corresponding buffer pixel.

In one embodiment, each said buffer pixel comprises an inactive pixel.

In one embodiment, each said buffer pixel comprises an active pixel setto a designated buffer value.

In one embodiment, each of said subsets comprises a cluster ofcohesively distributed pixels.

In one embodiment, each of said clusters comprises an M×N array ofcohesively distributed pixels.

In one embodiment, M and N are between 1 and 10.

In one embodiment, M and N are between 2 and 4.

In one embodiment, M is equal to N.

In one embodiment, at least one of M or N comprises 4 pixels, andwherein each said buffer pixel comprises a single pixel.

In one embodiment, each of said clusters defines a corresponding stripof cohesively distributed pixels in which one of M or N is much greaterthan the other.

In one embodiment, the digital processor is operable to allocatemultiple buffer pixels between each of said alternating adjacentsubsects.

In one embodiment, the light field shaping elements are defined by atleast one of a 1D or 2D parallax barrier, lenslet array, lenticulararray, or waveguide.

In one embodiment, the correspondingly alternating adjacent subsets ofthe set of pixels are allocated in one or two dimensions correspondinglyspreading the respective view zones in one or two directions.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided acomputer-implemented method, automatically implemented by a digitalprocessor operable to activate a set of pixels of a Multiview Display(MVD) so to display respective content to be viewed in correspondingview zones defined by the MVD, the method comprising: for each of therespective content, activating correspondingly alternating adjacentsubsets of the set of pixels so to display each of the respectivecontent in their respective view zones; allocating a buffer pixelbetween each of said alternating adjacent subsets of the set of pixelssuch that any two adjacently activated pixels corresponding to distinctview zones are physically separated by a corresponding buffer pixel.

In one embodiment, the allocating comprises inactivating each saidbuffer pixel.

In one embodiment, the allocating comprises activating each said bufferpixel in accordance with a designated buffer value.

In one embodiment, each of said subsets comprises a cluster ofcohesively distributed pixels.

In one embodiment, the allocating comprises allocating multiple bufferpixels between each of said alternating adjacent subsets.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a computer-readablemedium comprising instruction operable by a digital data processor toimplement any one or more of the above-noted methods.

Other aspects, features and/or advantages will become more apparent uponreading of the following non-restrictive description of specificembodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Several embodiments of the present disclosure will be provided, by wayof examples only, with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative MultiView Display (MVD)operable to display distinct content in different view directions, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are schematic diagrams illustrating a multiviewself-identification system, a mobile device to be used therewith, and aschematic diagram of a self-identification system and mobile deviceinteracting together, respectively, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of an emitter array and anemitter, respectively, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram of an illustrative multiviewself-identification method, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram of an alternative process step of FIG.4 , in accordance with one embodiment;

FIGS. 6A to 6C are schematic diagrams illustrating certain process stepsof FIGS. 4 and 5 , in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an array of pixels in amultiview display system operable to display two images, in accordancewith various embodiments; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an array of pixels in amultiview display system wherein pixels corresponding to different viewsare separated by an unlit pixel, in accordance with various embodiments.

Elements in the several figures are illustrated for simplicity andclarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be emphasizedrelative to other elements for facilitating understanding of the variouspresently disclosed embodiments. Also, common, but well-understoodelements that are useful or necessary in commercially feasibleembodiments are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various implementations and aspects of the specification will bedescribed with reference to details discussed below. The followingdescription and drawings are illustrative of the specification and arenot to be construed as limiting the specification. Numerous specificdetails are described to provide a thorough understanding of variousimplementations of the present specification. However, in certaininstances, well-known or conventional details are not described in orderto provide a concise discussion of implementations of the presentspecification.

Various apparatuses and processes will be described below to provideexamples of implementations of the system disclosed herein. Noimplementation described below limits any claimed implementation and anyclaimed implementations may cover processes or apparatuses that differfrom those described below. The claimed implementations are not limitedto apparatuses or processes having all of the features of any oneapparatus or process described below or to features common to multipleor all of the apparatuses or processes described below. It is possiblethat an apparatus or process described below is not an implementation ofany claimed subject matter.

Furthermore, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the implementations described herein.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the relevant artsthat the implementations described herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theimplementations described herein.

In this specification, elements may be described as “configured to”perform one or more functions or “configured for” such functions. Ingeneral, an element that is configured to perform or configured forperforming a function is enabled to perform the function, or is suitablefor performing the function, or is adapted to perform the function, oris operable to perform the function, or is otherwise capable ofperforming the function.

It is understood that for the purpose of this specification, language of“at least one of X, Y, and Z” and “one or more of X, Y and Z” may beconstrued as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or moreitems X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XY, YZ, ZZ, and the like). Similar logicmay be applied for two or more items in any occurrence of “at least one. . . ” and “one or more . . . ” language.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this disclosure belongs.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take themeanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. The phrase “in one of the embodiments” or “in atleast one of the various embodiments” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Furthermore,the phrase “in another embodiment” or “in some embodiments” as usedherein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, although itmay. Thus, as described below, various embodiments may be readilycombined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the innovationsdisclosed herein.

In addition, as used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or”operator, and is equivalent to the term “and/or,” unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. The term “based on” is not exclusive andallows for being based on additional factors not described, unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, throughout thespecification, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include pluralreferences. The meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”

The term “comprising” as used herein will be understood to mean that thelist following is non-exhaustive and may or may not include any otheradditional suitable items, for example one or more further feature(s),component(s) and/or element(s) as appropriate.

The terms “view”, “view zone”, and “viewing zone”, used hereininterchangeably, refer to a one-, two-, or three-dimensional region ofspace wherein an image or other content displayed by a MVD is viewableby a user. A view zone may also refer to an angular distribution ofspace projected radially from a MVD, or a portion thereof. In accordancewith various embodiments, a view zone may correspond to one pupil of auser, or may correspond to a user as a whole. For instance, neighbouringview zones may correspond to areas in which content may be seen bydifferent users. The skilled artisan will appreciate that a view zone,in accordance with various embodiments, may repeat, or have multipleinstances, in 2D or 3D space based on the operational mode of an MVD inuse.

The systems and methods described herein provide, in accordance withdifferent embodiments, different examples of a multiview viewerlocalization system, method and device, and multiview display and systemusing same. In these or alternative embodiments, a system and method isprovided for improving a user experience while viewing a multiviewdisplay (MVD).

While various embodiments may apply to various configurations of MVDsystems known in the art, exemplary MVD systems with which the systemsand methods described herein may apply will now be described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 6 . Such examples are not intended to limit thescope of the systems and methods herein described, and are included toprovide context, only, for non-limiting exemplary MVD systems.

Known MVD systems can be adapted to display viewer-related informationin different MVD directions based on viewer identification and locationinformation acquired while the user is interacting with the MVD. Thiscan be achieved using facial or gesture recognition technologies usingcameras or imaging devices disposed around the MVD. However, viewers canbecome increasingly concerned about their privacy, and generallyuncomfortable with a particular technology, when subject to visualtracking, for instance not unlike some form of application-specificvideo surveillance. To address this concern, and in accordance with someembodiments, a viewer self-identification system and method can bedeployed in which active viewer camera monitoring or tracking can beavoided. That being said, the person of ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate that different user localization techniques may beemployed in concert with the herein-described embodiments to benefitfrom reduced ghosting or cross-talk, where such provisions are deployed,wherein users can self-locate by capturing a direction or zone-specificsignal, by entering a zone or direction-specific alphanumerical code orsymbol, or by executing prescribed gestures or actions for machinevision interpretation, or again position themselves in accordance withprescribed and/or static view zones or directions. Likewise, theanti-ghosting techniques described herein may equally apply touser-agnostic embodiments in which direction or zone-specific content isdisplayed irrespective of user-related data, i.e. independent as towhether a particular, or even any user, is located within a prescribedor dynamically definable view zone.

For the sake of illustration, and in accordance with some embodiments, amultiview self-identification system and method are described to relayviewing direction, and optionally viewer-related data, in a MVD systemso as to enable a given MVD to display location and/or viewer-relatedcontent to a particular viewer in or at a corresponding viewingdirection or location, without otherwise necessarily optically trackingor monitoring the viewer. According to such embodiments, a viewer whodoes not opt into the system's offering can remain completely anonymousand invisible to the system. Furthermore, even when opting into thesystem's offerings at a particular location, the viewer can find greatercomfort in knowing that the system does not, at least in someembodiments, capture or track visual data related to the viewer, whichcan otherwise make viewers feel like they are being actively watched orobserved.

In one particular embodiment, this improvement is achieved by deployinga network-interfacing content-controller operable to selectdirection-specific content to be displayed by the MVD along each ofdistinct viewing directions in response to a viewer and/orlocation-participating signal being received from a viewer's personalcommunication device. Such an otherwise effectively blind MVD does notrequire direct locational viewer tracking and thus, can be devoid of anydigital vision equipment such as cameras, motion sensors, or likeoptical devices. Instead, position or directional view-relatedinformation can be relayed by one or more emitters disposed relative tothe MVD and operable to emit respective encoded signals in each of saiddistinct viewing directions that can be captured by a viewer'scommunication device and therefrom relayed to the controller toinstigate display of designated content along that view. Whereviewer-related data is also relayed by the viewer's communication devicealong with a given encoded signal, the displayed content can be morespecifically targeted to that viewer based on the relayed viewer-relateddata. In some embodiments, to improve the usability of the system,encoded signals may be emitted as time-variable signals, such aspulsatile and optionally invisible (e.g. InfraRed (IR) or Near InfraRed(NIR)) signals constrained to a particular view zone (e.g. having anangularly constrained emission beam profile bounded within each viewzone), whereby such signals can be captured and processed by a viewer'scamera-enabled communication device. These and other such examples willbe described in greater detail below.

With reference to FIG. 1 , and in accordance with one embodiment, a MVDsystem will now be described. In this embodiment, an exemplary MVD 105is illustrated comprising a digital display that can display two or moredifferent images (or multimedia content) simultaneously with each imagebeing visible only from a specific viewing direction. In this example,different viewers/users are viewing MVD 105 from different viewingdirections, each viewer potentially seeing distinct contentsimultaneously. A passive or user-indiscriminate implementation couldalternatively display different direction-specific content withoutviewer input, that is, irrespective of which viewer is located at any ofthe particular locations.

However, it may be desirable to present or display viewer-relatedcontent to a given viewer, say for example viewer 110 currently seeingMVD 105 from a specific viewing direction 121. To do so, MVD 105 mustfirst know from which viewing direction viewer 110 is currently viewingMVD 105. As noted above, while technologies or methods may be used onMVD 105 to actively monitor body features (e.g. face recognition), bodygestures and/or the presence of wearable devices (e.g. bracelets, etc.)of potential viewers, these technologies can be intrusive and bringprivacy concerns. So, instead of having MVD 105 localizing/identifyingviewer 110 itself, the methods and systems described herein, inaccordance with different embodiments, therefore aim to provide viewer110 with the ability to “self-identify” himself/herself as being inproximity to MVD 105 via a mobile device like a smartphone or likecommunication device, and send thereafter self-identified viewingdirection/location data and in some cases additional viewer-related datato MVD 105, so that MVD 105 may display viewer-related content to viewer110 via view direction 121.

In one non-limiting example, for illustrative purposes, MVD 105 may beimplemented to display arrival/departing information in an airport orlike terminal. The systems and methods provided herein, in accordancewith different embodiments, may be employed with a system in which aviewing direction 121 can be used to display the same flight informationas in all other views, but in a designated language (e.g. English,Spanish, French, etc.) automatically selected according to a pre-definedviewer preference. In some embodiments, a self-identification systemcould enable MVD 105 to automatically respond to a viewer'sself-identification for a corresponding viewing direction by displayingthe information for that view using the viewer's preferred language. Ina similar embodiment, the MVD could be configured to display thisparticular viewers flight details, for example, where viewer-relateddata communicated to the system extends beyond mere system preferencessuch as a preferred language, to include more granular viewer-specificinformation such as upcoming flight details, gates, seat selections,destination weather, special announcements or details, boarding zoneschedule, etc.

Generally, MVD 105 discussed herein will comprise a set of imagerendering pixels and a light field shaping layer or array of light fieldshaping elements disposed either onto or at a preset distance therefromso to controllably shape or influence a light field emanating therefrom.In some embodiments, the MVD 105 may be a lenticular MVD, for examplecomprising a series of vertically aligned or slanted cylindrical lenses(e.g. part of a lenticular sheet or similar) or parallax barriers ofvertically aligned apertures, located or overlaid above a pixelateddisplay, although the systems and methods described herein may workequally well for any type of MVD or any 1D or 2D display segregatingdistinct views by location or orientation, including x and/or y. Forexample, a 1D or 2D MVD may layer a 2D microlens array or parallaxbarrier to achieve projection of distinct views along different anglesspread laterally and/or vertically.

In accordance with some embodiments, a MVD may include a dynamicallyvariable MVD in that an array of light shaping elements, such as amicrolens array or parallax barrier, can be dynamically actuated tochange optical and/or spatial properties thereof. For example, a liquidcrystal array can be disposed or integrated within an MVD system tocreate a dynamically actuated parallax barrier, for example, in whichalternating opaque and transparent regions (lines, “apertures”, etc.)can be dynamically scaled based on different input parameters. In oneillustrative example, a 1D parallax barrier can be dynamically createdwith variable line spacing and width such that a number of angularlydefined views, and viewing region associated therewith, can bedynamically varied depending on an application at hand, content ofinterest, and/or particular physical installation. In a same oralternative embodiment in which view zone-defining light field shapingelements are disposed to form a layer at a distance from an underlyingpixelated digital display, for example, this distance can also, oralternatively, be dynamically controlled (e.g. servo-actuated) tofurther or otherwise impact MVD view zone determination andimplementation. As such, not only can user-related content beselectively displayed according to different view directions, so can thedifferent view directions be altered for instance, to increase a viewzone angle spread, repetition frequency, etc. In such embodiment, userself-localisation techniques as described herein may be adjustedaccordingly such that user self-localisation signals are correspondinglyadjusted to mirror actuated variations in MVD view zone characterizationand implementation.

With reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C, and in accordance with differentexemplary embodiments, a multiview self-identification system forproviding viewing direction data to a MVD so as to enable this MVD toprovide viewer-related content to a viewer in a corresponding viewingdirection, generally referred to using the numeral 200, will now bedescribed. Self-identification system 200 is generally communicativelylinked to MVD 105. In some embodiments, system 200 may be embedded inMVD 105, or it may be provided as a separate device and be attachedconnected to an existing MVD 105. System 200 generally further comprisesan emitter array 203 comprising one or more emitters, each operable toemit highly directional (time-dependent or variable) encoded emissions.In some embodiments, emitter array 203 comprises one or more emitters,each emitter configured to emit a time-dependent encoded emission (e.g.blinking light or other pulsatile waveform), the emission beingsubstantially in-line, directionally-aligned or parallel to, acorresponding viewing direction of the MVD, so as to be only perceived(or preferentially perceived) by a viewer, camera or sensor when aviewer is viewing the MVD from this corresponding view direction. Thisis schematically illustrated in FIG. 2C, which shows emitter array 203being located, as an example, above or on top of MVD 105, and emittingtherefrom a multiplicity of highly directional encoded emissions 205.Viewer 110 is shown using a camera 287 of his/her mobile device 209 tointercept encoded emission 216, which is the only one visible fromhis/her location, and which corresponds to that particular viewingdirection (e.g. viewing direction 121 of FIG. 1 ). Naturally, inembodiments where view zone boundaries or characteristics aredynamically actuated via a dynamically actuated MVD, zone-specific userself-localization signals may be equally adjusted to mirror anycorresponding spatial changes to the view zone definitions, such as viamechanical (mechanically actuated/reoriented emitters), optical(actuated emission beam steering/forming optics) or like mechanisms.

Generally, emitter array 203 may be located or installed within, on orclose to MVD 105, so as to be in view of a viewer (or a mobile device209 held thereby) viewing MVD 105. In some embodiments, due to thedirectionality of the emitted emissions, a viewer within a given viewdirection of MVD 105 may only be able to perceive one correspondingencoded emission 216 from one corresponding emitter.

Generally, mobile device 209 as considered herein may be any portableelectronic device comprising a camera or light sensor and operable tosend/receive data wirelessly. This is schematically illustrated in FIG.2B, wherein mobile device 209 comprises a wireless network interface 267and a digital camera 287. Mobile device 209 may include, withoutlimitation, smartphones, tablets, e-readers, wearable devices (watches,glasses, etc.) or similar. Wireless network interface 267 may beoperable to communicate wirelessly via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, Cellular,2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and similar. In some embodiments, digital camera 287 maybe sensitive to IR light or NIR light, such that an encoded IR or NIRsignal 216 can be captured thereby without adversely impacting theviewer's experience and/or distracting other individuals in the MVD'svicinity. Other non-visible signals can also be considered.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, emitter array 203 may compriseinfrared (IR) emitters configured to emit IR light, wherein the encodedemission is a time-dependent pulsatile waveform or similar (e.g.blinking IR light having a direction-encoded pulsatile waveform,frequency, pattern, etc.). In some embodiments, the 38 kHz modulationstandard may be used, however, other time-dependent signal encoding(analog or digital) known in the art may be used. Thus, using an IRsensitive digital camera 287, an encoded IR emission may berecorded/intercepted while being invisible to viewer 110, so to notcause unnecessary discomfort.

In some embodiments, the frequency of the encoded emission or a changethereof may, at least in part, be used to differentiate betweendifferent emitters of emitter array 203 (e.g. in case of unintendedcross-talk between emitters). For example, a specific pulsatilefrequency may be used for different view directions.

Thus, in some embodiments, system 200 may further comprise a dedicatedapplication or software (not shown) to be executed on mobile device 209,and which may have access to one or more hardware digital camerastherein. This dedicated application may be operable to acquire livevideo using a camera of mobile device 209, identify within this video anencoded emission if present and automatically extract therefrom viewingdirection or location data.

Furthermore, emitter array 203 may have the advantage that it onlyrequires viewer 110 to point a camera in the general direction of MVD105 and emitter array 203, whereby the encoded time-variable signal isprojected in an angularly constrained beam that sweeps a significantvolume fraction of its corresponding view zone (i.e. without spillingover into adjacent zones), avoiding potentially problematic camera/imagealignment requirements that could otherwise be required if communicatingdirectional information via a visible graphic or code (e.g. QR code).Given such considerations, even if during acquisition the location ofthe camera/sensor changes (e.g. due to hand motion, etc.), the dedicatedapplication may be operable to follow the source of encoded emission 216over time irrespective of specific alignment or stability.

In some embodiments, system 200 may further comprise a remote server254, which may be, for example, part of a cloud service, and communicateremotely with network interface 225. In some embodiments, contentcontroller 231 may also be operated from remote server 254, such that,for example, viewer-specific content can be streamed directly fromremote server 254 to MVD 105.

In some embodiments, multiple MVDs may be networked together andoperated from, at least partially, remove server 254.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a schematic diagram of an exemplary emitter array203 and one exemplary emitter 306 therefrom, respectively. FIG. 3A showsemitter array 203 comprising (as an example only) 8 IR emittersconfigured to emit directionally encoded emissions 205. In someembodiments, as explained above, each IR emitter in emitter array 203 isconfigured/aligned/oriented so that the IR light/emission emittedtherefrom is aligned with a viewing direction of MVD 105. In someembodiments, the relative orientation of each emitter may be changedmanually at any time, for example in the case where emitter array 203 isto be installed on a different MVD. FIG. 3B shows an exemplary emitter306, which may comprise an IR LED 315 operable to emit IR light at agiven pulsatile modulation, a sleeve/recess/casing 320 for blocking IRlight from being emitted outside the intended orientation/direction, andan opening 344 for the light to exit.

Other configurations of emitter array 203 or emitter 306 may beconsidered, without departing from the general scope and nature of thepresent disclosure. For example, directional light sources, such aslasers and/or optically collimated and/or angularly constrained beamforming devices may serve provide directional emissions without physicalblockers or shutters, as can other examples readily apply.

With continued reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C, self-identification system200 may further comprise a processing unit 223, a network interface 225to receive view direction identification data from personal mobiledevice 209 and/or any other viewer-related data (directly orindirectly), a data storage unit or internal memory 227 to store viewingdirection data and viewer-related data, and a content controlleroperable to interface and control MVD 105. Internal memory 227 can beany form of electronic storage, including a disk drive, optical drive,read-only memory, random-access memory, or flash memory, to name a fewexamples. Internal memory 227 also generally comprises any data and/orprograms needed to properly operate content controller 231, emitterarray 203, and content controller 231.

In some embodiments, network interface 225 may send/receive data throughthe use of a wired or wireless network connection. The skilled artisanwill understand that a different means of wirelessly connectingelectronic devices may be considered herein, such as, but not limitedto, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, Cellular, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G or similar.

In some embodiments, the user may be required to provide input viamobile device 209 before the viewing direction data is sent to MVD 105.

As mentioned above, in some embodiments, at any time viewer 110 findsthemself in proximity to MVD 105, they can opt to open/execute adedicated application on their portable digital device 209 to interfacewith the system. In other embodiments, this dedicated application may beembedded into the operating system of mobile device 209, eliminating theneed to manually open the application. Instead, viewer 110 may touch abutton or similar, such as a physical button or one on a graphical userinterface (GUI) to start the process. Either way, mobile device can 209access digital camera 287 and start recording/acquiring images and/orvideo therefrom, and thus capture an encoded signal emitted in thatparticular view direction.

For example, and with added reference to the process 400 illustrated inFIG. 4 , once a corresponding application has been launched or activatedat step 405, at step 410, viewer 110 can point camera 287 towards MVD105 and emitter array 203. In some embodiments, there may be no need tointeract with the image acquisition process (e.g. zoom, tilt, move,etc.). Indeed, as long as the time-dependent encoded emission perceivedfrom emitter array 203 corresponding to the physical location andviewing direction of viewer 105 is within the frame, mobile device 209(via dedicated application/software) may be operable to extracttherefrom the encoded data at step 415. This is schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 6A, wherein mobile camera 287 is used by viewer 110(via the dedicated application) to record a video segment and/or seriesof images 603 comprising encoded emission 216. The dedicated applicationapplies any known image recognition method to locate the emission ofemitter 609 within image 603 and extract therefrom the correspondingpulsatile encoded transmission 624, thereby extracting the correspondingviewing direction data 629.

In some embodiments, a notification and/or message may be presented tothe viewer on the mobile device to confirm that the encoded emission wascorrectly located and decoded, to display the decoded location, and/orto authorize further processing of the received location information anddownstream MVD process. It will be appreciated that while the viewinglocation may be immediately decoded and confirmed, the encodedinformation may rather remain as such until further processed downstreamby the system.

Once the view-related data 629 has been captured, the mobile device cancommunicate at step 420 this information to MVD 105 (using wirelessnetwork interface 267), optionally along with viewer-related data. Thisviewer-related data can be used, for example, to derive viewer-relatedcontent to be presented or displayed on MVD 105. In some embodiments,viewer-related data may comprise a language preference or similar, whilein other embodiments it may comprise viewer-specific information,including personal information (e.g. personalized flight information,etc.). In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, mobile device 209communicates directly with network controller 213 of self-identificationsystem 200, which may in this example be uniquely connected to MVD 105(either integrated into MVD 105 or included within the same hardwareunit as emitter array 203, for example). Once network-controller 213receives this viewing direction data and viewer-specific data, it relaysit to content-controller 215, which uses it to display viewer-relatedcontent on MVD 105 via the corresponding viewing direction 121.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5 and illustrated schematically in FIG.6C, and according to another embodiment, step 415 may be modified toinclude communicating to remote server 254 instead. At step 510 of FIG.5 , instead of connecting directly with network-interface 225 of system200, mobile device 209 may communicate with remote server 254, by way ofa wireless internet connection. At step 515, mobile device 209 may thencommunicate viewing direction data and viewer-related data. In addition,in this example, additional data identifying for example MVD 105 in anetwork of connected MVDs may also be provided in the encoded emission.In this exemplary embodiment, remote server 254 may be part of a cloudservice or similar, which links multiple MVDs over a network and whereinthe dedicated application for mobile device 209 may be configured tocommunicate user-related data (e.g. user profile, user identification,user preferences, etc.). At step 520, remote server 254 may then connectand communicate with network-interface 225 of system 200. In someembodiments, selected view-related data may be directly selected by themobile application and relayed to the system for consideration. In otherembodiments, a user identifier may otherwise be relayed to the remoteserver 254, which may have operative access to a database of stored userprofiles, and related information, so to extract therefrom user-relateddata usable in selecting specific or appropriate user andview-direction/location content.

In some embodiments, additional information such as the physicallocation of MVD 105 may be encoded in the encoded emission itself orderived indirectly from the location of the mobile device 209 (via a GPSor similar).

In some embodiments, viewer-specific content may comprise any multimediacontent, including but without limitation, text, images, photographs,videos, etc. In some cases, viewer-related content may be a same contentbut presented in a different way, or in a different language.

In some embodiments, the viewer may have the option of interactingdynamically with the dedicated mobile application to control whichviewer-related content is to be displayed in the corresponding viewdirection of the MVD 105. In other cases, the viewer may pre-configure,before interacting with the MVD, the dedicated application to select oneor more viewer-specific content, and/or pre-configure the application tocommunicate to MVD 105 to display viewer-specific content based on a setof predefined parameters (e.g. preferred language, etc.).

In practice, the viewing of conventional MVD systems, examples of whichmay include, but are not limited to, those abovementioned, maytraditionally be accompanied by various visual artifacts that maydetract from or diminish the quality of a user viewing experience. Forinstance, a MVD system employing a light field shaping element (e.g. aparallax barrier, a lenslet array, a lenticular array, waveguides, andthe like) may be designed or otherwise operable to display light fromdifferent pixels to respective eyes of a viewer in a narrow angularrange (or small region of space). In some cases, even a slight movementof a viewer may result in one eye perceiving light intended for theother eye. Similarly, when viewing a MVD operative to display differentimages to different viewers, user movement may result in thepresentation of two different images or portions thereof to a singleviewer if pixels intended to be blocked or otherwise unseen by that userbecome visible. Such visual artifacts, referred to hereininterchangeably as “ghosting” or “crosstalk”, may result in a poorviewing experience.

While various approaches have been proposed to mitigate ghosting instereoscopic systems, such as that disclosed by International PatentApplication WO 2014/014603 A3 entitled “Crosstalk reduction withlocation-based adjustment” and issued to Dane and Bhaskaran on Sep. 4,2014, a need exists for a system and method of rendering images in amanner that improves user experience for MVD systems that, for instance,do not provide an adverse impact on a neighbouring view (e.g. compensatefor a neighbour view by adjusting a pixel value, detracting from thequality of one or more displayed images). Furthermore, a need exists fora system and method to this end that is less computationally intensivethan the dynamic adjustments required to apply corrective contrastmeasures, such as those that might reverse a ghosting effect, forindividually identified pixels for certain images. As such, hereindisclosed are various systems and methods that, in accordance withvarious embodiments, relate to rendering images in MVDs that improveuser experience via mitigation of ghosting and/or crosstalk effects.

In accordance with various embodiments, a parallax barrier as describedherein may be applied to a MVD wherein each view thereof displayedrelates to a different user, or to different perspectives for a singleviewer. However, a parallax barrier is not required in order to obtaindirectional content for a multiview display. For instance, various meansknown in the art for providing a plurality of content (e.g. images,videos, text, etc.) in multiple directions, such as lenslet arrays,lenticular arrays, waveguides, combinations thereof, and the like, fallwithin the scope of the disclosure.

Furthermore, various aspects relate to the creation of distinct viewzones that may be wide enough to encompass both eyes of an individualviewer, or one eye of a single user within a single view zone, accordingto the context in which a MVD may be used, while mitigating crosstalkbetween different views.

Description will now be provided for various embodiments that relate toMVD systems that comprise a parallax barrier, although the skilledartisan will appreciate that other light field shaping elements may beemployed in the systems and methods herein described.

Conventional parallax barriers may comprise a series of barriers thatblock a fraction (N−1)/N of available display pixels while displaying Ndistinct views in order to display distinct images. Such systems mayprovide a high resolution and brightness for each view. For example, aMVD displaying two views (i.e. N=2) may have half of its pixels used fora first view zone, while the other half (blocked from the first viewzone) are used for a second view zone. In such a system, narrow viewzones are created such that even minute displacement from an ideallocation may result in crosstalk, reducing image quality due to ghostingfrom adjacent views.

In accordance with various embodiments, ghosting may be at leastpartially addressed by effectively creating “blank” views between thoseintended for viewing that comprise pixels for image formation. That is,some pixels that would otherwise be used for image formation may act asa buffer between views. For instance, and in accordance with variousembodiments, such buffers may be formed by maintaining such pixelsinactive, unlit, and/or blank. Such embodiments may allow for a greaterextent of viewer motion before crosstalk between view zones may occur,and thus may improve user experience. For instance, in theabovementioned example of a MVD with N views, a barrier may block afraction of (2N−1)/2N pixels in an embodiment in which view zones areseparated by equal-width blank “viewing zones”. That is, for a MVDdisplaying two views (N=2), four “views” may be created, wherein eachview containing different images is separated by a “view” that does notcontain an image, resulting in 75% of pixels being blocked by a barrierwhile 25% are used to create each of the two images to be viewed.

The abovementioned embodiment may reduce ghosting effects, as a viewer(i.e. a pupil, or both eyes of a user) may need to completely span thewidth of a view zone to perceive pixels emitting light corresponding todifferent images. However, the images formed by such systems or methodsmay have reduced brightness and/or resolution due to the number ofpixels that are sacrificed to create blank views. One approach tomitigating this effect, and in accordance with various embodiments, isto address pixels in clusters, wherein clusters of pixels are separatefrom one another by one or more blank pixels. For instance, and inaccordance with at least one of the various embodiments, a cluster maycomprise a “group” or subset of four cohesively distributed (i.e.juxtaposed) pixels and utilised to produce a portion of an image, andclusters may be separated by a width of a designated number of pixelsthat may be left blank, unlit, or inactive, or again activated inaccordance with a designated buffer pixel value (i.e. buffer pixel(s)).While the following description refers to a one-dimensional array ofpixels grouped into clusters of four pixels each, the skilled artisanwill appreciate that the concepts herein taught may also apply totwo-dimensional arrays of pixels and/or clusters, wherein clusters maycomprise any size in one or two dimensions

While this particular example (four active pixels to one blank pixel)may provide an appropriate ratio of used or lit pixels to blank or unlitpixels for a high quality viewing experience in some systems, theskilled artisan will appreciate that various embodiments may comprisedifferent ratios of active to blank pixels, or variable ratios thereof,while remaining within the scope of the disclosure. For instance,various embodiments may comprise varying the ratio of active to blankpixels throughout a dimension of a display, or, may comprise varying theratio of active to blank pixels based on the complexity of an image orimage portion. Such variable ratio embodiments may be particularlyadvantageous in, for instance, a lenticular array-based MVD, or othersuch MVD systems that do not rely on a static element (e.g. a parallaxbarrier) to provide directional light.

As such, various embodiments as described herein may comprise thedesignated usage and/or activation of pixels in a display in additionto, or as an alternative to, a physical barrier or light field shapingelements (e.g. lenses) that allow light from specific regions of adisplay to be seen at designated viewing angles (i.e. directionallight). Dynamic or designated pixel activation sequences or processesmay be carried out by a digital data processor directly or remotelyassociated with the MVD, such as a graphics controller, image processor,or the like.

To further describe a physical parallax barrier that may be used inaccordance with various embodiments, the notation PB (N, p, b) will beused henceforth, where PB is a physical parallax barrier used with adisplay creating N views, where p is the number of pixels in a cluster,as described above, designated as active to contribute to a particularimage or view, wherein clusters may be separated by a number of pixels bthat may be blank, inactive, or unlit. In accordance with variousembodiments, b may be 0 where blank pixels are not introduced betweenview-defining clusters, or otherwise at least 1 where one or more blankpixels are introduced between view-defining clusters.

Embodiments may also be described by an effective pixel size s_(px)*representing the size of a pixel projection on the plane correspondingto a physical parallax barrier. The slit width SW of the physicalbarrier may thus be defined as SW=p s_(px)*, and the physical barrierwidth between slits BW as BW=[(N−1) p+N b] s_(px)*. It may also be notedthat, for a system in which D is the distance between the parallaxbarrier and a viewer and g is the gap between the screen and thephysical barrier plane (i.e. D+g relates to the distance between theviewer and the screen), the effective pixel size s_(px)* may be computedas s_(px)*, s_(px) [D/(D+g)], where s_(px) is the screen's actual pixelsize (or pixel pitch).

A geometry of a conventional parallax barrier MVD system is furtherdescribed in FIG. 7 , which illustrates, using the abovementionednotation, a parallax barrier of PB (2, 4, 0). In this example, 2 views(N=2, where pixels corresponding to different images are referred to aswhite or dark, for illustrative purposes only) are created usingclusters of 4 pixels each, wherein each cluster is separated by 0 blankpixels. Here, white clusters 722 of white pixels 724 corresponding to afirst image to be displayed by screen 720 are only visible through aparallax barrier 730 to a first viewer 710 through slits of slit width734 (SW) in the barrier 730. Dark clusters 727 of dark pixels 725 are,from the perspective of the first viewer 710, blocked by barriers 735 ofbarrier width 737 (BW), while those same dark pixel clusters 727 arevisible to a second viewer 715. In this case, the barrier 730 is at agap distance 740 (g) away from the screen 720, while the first viewer710 is at a distance 742 (D) away from the barrier 730. As describedabove, such a system may be sensitive to crosstalk/ghosting effects.Indeed, even a slight movement from the first viewer 710 would result inperception of one or more dark pixels 725, while movement from thesecond viewer 715 would result in perceived images being contaminatedwith white pixels 724.

FIG. 8 , on the other hand, incorporates blank pixels 850 within adisplay 820, in accordance with various embodiments. In this example,denoted PB (2, 4, 1), white clusters 827 of four white pixels arevisible to a first viewer 810 through slits of width 834, while darkclusters 822 of 4 dark pixels each are blocked to the first viewer 810by barriers of width 832. conversely, a second viewer 815 may seeclusters of dark pixels 822, while the barriers block the second viewerfrom perceiving white clusters 827. In this case, the parallax barrier830 is a gap distance 840 from the screen 820, while the first viewer isa distance 842 from the parallax barrier. Unlike the example of FIG. 7 ,in FIG. 8 , if either viewer shifts position in any direction, they willnot immediately be presented with pixels corresponding to a differentimage. Rather, upon movement, their field of view will first incorporatea blank pixel 850 (marked with an ‘X’ in FIG. 8 ), which is inactive,and thus not producing light that will result in crosstalk. Thus, thepresence of blank pixels at designated locations reduces ghostingeffects in a MVD system, in accordance with various embodiments.

In the example of FIG. 8 , wherein N=2, p=4, and b=1, 80% of the numberof pixels that would have otherwise been used to form a particular imagein FIG. 7 may be active. As such, only 20% of the resolution is lostcompared to that of FIG. 7 , which comprised an “optimal” barrier inthat all pixels were used to form an image. However, the perception ofghosting may be significantly reduced, even in embodiments wherein onlya single pixel is used to separate clusters of image-producing pixels.

In accordance with various embodiments, the presence of blank, unlit, orinactive pixels may effectively increase a viewing zone size. That is, aviewer may comfortably experience a larger area wherein their view orperception does not experience significant ghosting.

In accordance with various embodiments, blank pixels may be placed atthe interface between adjacent clusters of pixels corresponding todifferent images and/or content. Such configurations may, in accordancewith various embodiments, provide a high degree of resolution and/orbrightness in images while minimizing crosstalk.

The following Table provides non-limiting examples of display pixelparameters that may relate to various embodiments, with the associatedpercentage of a total number of available pixels on a display thatcorrespond to a particular image or view, and thus relate to resolutionand brightness of a respective image. The skilled artisan willappreciate that such parameters are exemplary, only, and do no limit thescope of the disclosure. Furthermore, the skilled artisan willappreciate that while such parameters may, in accordance with someembodiments, refer to a number of pixels in one dimension, they may alsoapply to methods and systems operable in two dimensions. For instance, apixel cluster may be a p by r array of pixels cohesively distributed intwo dimensions on a display. In some embodiments, buffer regions ofunlit pixels may be variable in different dimensions (e.g. a bufferwidth of b pixels between clusters in a horizontal direction and cpixels between clusters in a vertical direction).

% per view N P b (%) 2 4 1 40 2 2 1 33 2 2 0 50 2 1 1 25 3 1 0 33 3 3 125 3 2 0 33 4 1 0 25

While various examples described relate to MVD displays comprisingparallax barriers, the skilled artisan will appreciate that the systemsand method herein disclosed may relate to other forms of MVD displays.For instance, and without limitation, blank or inactive pixels may beemployed with MVD displays comprising lenticular arrays, whereindirectional light is provided through focusing elements. For instance,the principle of effectively “expanding” a view zone via blank pixelsthat do not contribute to crosstalk between views in such embodimentsremains similar to that herein described for the embodiments discussedabove.

Further embodiments may relate to the employ of unlit pixels in dynamicimage rendering (e.g. scrolling text, videos, etc.) to reduce crosstalkor ghosting. Similarly, yet other embodiments relate to the use of blankpixels to reduce ghosting related to systems that employ dynamic pupilor user tracking, wherein images are rendered, for instance, on demandto correspond to a determined user location, or predicted location (e.g.predictive location tracking). Similarly, embodiments may relate to aview zone that encompasses one or more eyes of a single user, theprovision of stereoscopic images wherein each eye of a user is in arespective view zone, or providing a view zone corresponding theentirety of a user, for instance to provide a neighbouring view zone foran additional user(s).

While the present disclosure describes various embodiments forillustrative purposes, such description is not intended to be limited tosuch embodiments. On the contrary, the applicant's teachings describedand illustrated herein encompass various alternatives, modifications,and equivalents, without departing from the embodiments, the generalscope of which is defined in the appended claims. Except to the extentnecessary or inherent in the processes themselves, no particular orderto steps or stages of methods or processes described in this disclosureis intended or implied. In many cases the order of process steps may bevaried without changing the purpose, effect, or import of the methodsdescribed.

Information as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable ofattaining the above-described object of the present disclosure, thepresently preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, and is, thus,representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated bythe present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure fullyencompasses other embodiments which may become apparent to those skilledin the art, and is to be limited, accordingly, by nothing other than theappended claims, wherein any reference to an element being made in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly sostated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functionalequivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodimentand additional embodiments as regarded by those of ordinary skill in theart are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended tobe encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, no requirement existsfor a system or method to address each and every problem sought to beresolved by the present disclosure, for such to be encompassed by thepresent claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step inthe present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims. However, that various changes andmodifications in form, material, work-piece, and fabrication materialdetail may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure, as set forth in the appended claims, as may beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, are also encompassed bythe disclosure.

1. A multiview system operable to interface with a mobile device of agiven viewer, the system comprising: a MultiView Display (MVD) operableto display distinct content in two or more distinct viewing directionsrelative to the MVD; a network-interfacing content-controller operableto select direction-specific content to be displayed by the MVD alongeach of said distinct viewing directions; one or more emitters disposedand operable to emit a respectively encoded time-variable emission ineach of said distinct viewing directions, wherein each said encodedtime-variable emission is associated with a respective one of saidviewing directions; and a mobile application operable on the mobiledevice of given user to capture a given one of said encodedtime-variable emissions when the mobile device is located so tointersect a corresponding one of said distinct directions so toself-identify the mobile device as being substantially in line with acorresponding one of said distinct viewing directions, and communicateviewer-related data and a direction-related identifier identifiable fromsaid given one of said encoded time-variable emission to saidcontent-controller; wherein said network-interfacing content controlleris further operable to: receive communication of said viewer-relateddata and direction-related identifier; select content based on saidviewer-related data and said direction-related identifier to bedisplayed along said given one of said distinct viewing directions; andinvoke display of said selected content via said MVD along said givenone of said distinct viewing directions.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein said encoded time-variable emission comprises an encodedpulsatile waveform.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said one or moreemitters comprise one or more infrared (IR) or near-IR (NIR) emitters.4. The system of claim 2, wherein said pulsatile waveform has afrequency of 38 kHz.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said oneor more emitters comprises a light source installed recessed in a sleeveso as to impart directionality to said encoded emission thereof.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said one or more emitters comprise abeam-forming optics disposed so as to impart directionality to saidencoded emission thereof.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein said one ormore emitters comprise a directional laser light source.
 8. The systemof claim 1, wherein said selected content comprises at least one of atext, an image, a video, a symbol, an icon or a code.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said selected content comprises text, and wherein saidviewer-related data comprises a viewer language preference.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said one or more emitters comprises multipleemitters respectively disposed so to correspond with each of saiddistinct viewing directions.
 11. A computer-implemented method,implemented by one or more digital data processors, for displayingviewer-related content along a given view direction of a MultiViewDisplay (MVD), the MVD operable to display distinct viewer-relatedcontent in two or more distinct viewing directions relative to thedisplay, the method comprising: emitting respective encodedtime-variable emissions, wherein each of said encoded time-variableemissions is substantially aligned with and encodes a correspondingviewing direction of the MVD; capturing via an optical sensor of aportable communication device located within a given view direction acorresponding encoded time-variable emission; extracting adirection-related identifier from said corresponding encodedtime-variable emission; communicating, via said portable communicationdevice, viewer-related data, and a direction-related identifieridentifiable from said corresponding encoded time-variable emission, toa network-interfacing content controller communicatively linked to theMVD; selecting, via said content controller, viewer-related contentbased on said viewer-related data; and displaying, via said contentcontroller and the MVD, said viewer-related content in said given viewdirection corresponding to said direction-related identifier.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein said encoded time-variable emissioncomprises an encoded pulsatile waveform.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein said pulsatile waveform has a frequency of 38 kHz.
 14. Acomputer-readable medium comprising digital instructions to beimplemented by a digital data processor for displaying viewer-relatedcontent along a given view direction of a MultiView Display (MVD), theMVD operable to display distinct viewer-related content in two or moredistinct viewing directions relative to the display, the instructionsfor: emitting respective encoded time-variable emissions, wherein eachof said encoded time-variable emissions is substantially aligned withand encodes a corresponding viewing direction of the MVD; capturing viaan optical sensor of a portable communication device located within agiven view direction a corresponding encoded time-variable emission;extracting a direction-related identifier from said correspondingencoded time-variable emission; communicating, via said portablecommunication device, viewer-related data, and a direction-relatedidentifier identifiable from said corresponding encoded time-variableemission, to a network-interfacing content controller communicativelylinked to the MVD; selecting, via said content controller,viewer-related content based on said viewer-related data; anddisplaying, via said content controller and the MVD, said viewer-relatedcontent in said given view direction corresponding to saiddirection-related identifier.
 15. A multiview content selection systemfor selecting viewer-related content to be displayed along respectiveviews of a MultiView Display (MVD) that is operable to display distinctcontent in two or more distinct viewing directions, the systemcomprising: a network-interfacing content-controller operable to selectdirection-specific content to be displayed by the MVD along each of saiddistinct viewing directions; one or more emitters disposed and operableto emit a respectively encoded time-variable emission in each of saiddistinct viewing directions, wherein each said encoded time-variableemission encodes is associated with a respective one of said viewingdirections; and a mobile application operable on a mobile device of agiven viewer to receive a given one of said encoded time-variableemissions when the mobile device is located so to intersect acorresponding one of said distinct directions so to self-identify themobile device as being substantially in line with a corresponding one ofsaid distinct viewing directions, and communicate viewer-related dataand a direction-related identifier identifiable from said given one ofsaid encoded time-variable emission to said content-controller; whereinsaid network-interfacing content controller is further operable to:receive communication of said viewer-related data and saiddirection-related identifier; select content based on saidviewer-related data; and invoke display of said selected content via theMVD along said corresponding one of said distinct viewing directionscorresponding with said direction-related identifier.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising the MVD.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the MVD comprises a dynamically variable MVD operable todynamically vary angular view zone boundaries, and wherein said one ormore emitters are operable to correspondingly vary emission of each saidrespectively encoded time-variable emission in each of said distinctviewing directions in concert with said dynamically variable MVD. 18.The system of claim 15, wherein said encoded time-variable emissioncomprises an encoded pulsatile waveform.
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein said one or more emitters comprise one or more infrared (IR) ornear-IR (NIR) emitters.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein each of saidone or more emitters comprises at least one of a light source installedrecessed in a sleeve so as to impart directionality to said encodedemission thereof, a beam-forming optics disposed so as to impartdirectionality to said encoded emission thereof, or a directional laserlight source.
 21. The system of claim 15, wherein said one or moreemitters comprises multiple emitters respectively disposed so tocorrespond with each of said distinct viewing directions. 22.-40.(canceled)
 41. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein saidencoded time-variable emission comprises an encoded pulsatile waveform.